In my opinion, Eric "Rizen" Lynch is one of poker's classiest and most likable players. He handles himself well at the tables and is also a family man, making sure that he devotes a considerable amount of time to his family. Not only that, but he is one of online poker's most consistent performers.

"Rizen" seems to largely fly under the radar when the discussion of online poker's top players comes up. This is largely due to the fact that he simply can't put in the hours that other players do online, due to his family obligations. If "Rizen" were able to put in the hours that other players do, I have no doubt that he would be one of the top two or three ranked players online.

He is a model of consistency, not only in online play, but also "live." Let's look at his "live" results first. "Rizen" has cashed in seven different WSOP events already, and he is just barely 29 years old. He has come painfully close to winning a WSOP bracelet, coming in third in a $1500 Pot Limit Hold'em event in 2006 and second in a $1500 Pot Limit Omaha event in 2007. His biggest live cash was in the 2006 World Series of Poker main event where he finished in 24th place, which was good for almost $500k. "Rizen" has almost $800k in total "live" cashes, most of which has come from playing WSOP events. Again, these results are even more impressive considering the fact that he can't get out as easily to live events as other players can, due to his family obligations.

Online "Rizen" is just as consistent. He is a net winner on every site that he has ever played on when it comes to MTT's. He has won on Pokerstars, Ultimatebet, Bodog, Party Poker, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, Paradise Poker and Pokerroom.com. That is eight different sites and "Rizen" doesn't have a negative return on any of them. According to my rough calculations, "Rizen" has roughly $500k net profit on all of these sites. If you combine gross "live" and online cashes, I believe he is just right around $1.5 million over the past two years.

"Rizen" has taken down the Pokerstars Sunday Million for $157k. He recently took down a UBOC event for $57k. Just less than a month ago, "Rizen" also came in 4th in a $750k Guarantee on Full Tilt Poker for $41k. And in addition to this, "Rizen" has multiple five figure cashes. According to his web site, he has 50 online wins and 300 final tables in his short career.

"Rizen" is now one of the chipleaders of the 2008 PCA, and I know that I will be pulling for him to win. He is intelligent, articulate and one of poker's best ambassadors. Best of all, he has his priorities straight in life.